Process of treating vegetable fibers and product resulting therefrom



Jan. 8, 1935. 1,986,970

PRocEss oF TREATINGYVEGETABLE FIBERS AND PRODUCT RESULTING THEREFROM T. P. HAUGHEY Filed April 22*I i951 :van otow.

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ATTORNEY the cut ber by violent agitation in cold water,

Patented Jan. a, 1193s PROCESS F TBEATING VEGETABLE FI- BERS AND PRODUCT RESULTING THERE- FROM Theodore P; Haughey,

Accomac, va., animi' to Harold H. Brown, New York, N. Y.

ApplicationAprll 22,

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a process for treating vegetable bers, particularly bast bers and to a novel product of manufacture resulting therefrom. The process is an improvement upon that 5 described and claimed inmy co-pending application Serial No. 453,107, led May 16, 1930, which issued on July 14, 1931 as United States Patent No. 1,814,155, and the product is spun yarn comprising pure linen or linen and cotton in intimate mixture and in controllable proportions.

Broadly, the present process, like thatof my former patent, comprises cutting or breaking partially decorticated and deseeded bers into lengths suitable for spinning on cotton machinery and subsequent treatment of the cut bers to taper or fray the ends thereof to adapt them for the spinning operation and tol remove, the gums and foreign matter therefrom; the degumming being effected by the use of extremely dilute chemical solutions. The present process differs from that of my former patent in that fewer steps are necessary for the treatmentof the bers, standard cotton machinery is utilized to a greater extent, the recovery of the gums is utilized as an indicator of progress of the ber treatment, and the treatment is carried out under atmospheric pressure conditions.

Animportant feature of the improved process is the simultaneous removal of foreign matter and the conditioning or tapering of the ends of followed by a degumming operation during which the bers are kept from agitation and are treated with a dilute chemical solution of the type employed in my earlier process.

For a better understanding of the improved process reference may be had to the attached drawing comprising a flow sheet' illustrating diagrammatically my` preferred process, as applied to the treatment of ber ax straw to produce yarn of cotton and linen in intimate mixture.

As indicated in the ow sheet, ax straw is introduced into'any suitable known type of decorticating machine 1, where it is partially deseeded and dewooded. The moisture content of the green ax ber should be reduced, of course, before the ber is introduced into the decorticating machine, as .such machines cannot eiciently treat fresh cut stock. Reduction of the moisture content to about 10%, as by air drying for one or two weeks, is sulcient; further seasoning is of no advantage.

The decorticated ber is then delivered to a cutting machine 2 where it is'cut 'intolengths suitable forv the spinning machinery upon which 1931, Serial No. 531,967

the product is to be spun. kWhen the ber is to be spun on the more usual ring spinning machinery, the ber should be cut into lengths of about one to one and one-half inches or less. When mule spindles are available, lengths of about two and one-half inches or more are suitable. Any known type of vcutting machine may be employed. For example, the ordinary type now used for cutting grain for animal fodder may be employed. At this stage in the process, the bers. instead of being 'cut could be broken oir; otherwise separated into the short lengths des ed.

From the cutter 2 or equivalent device the bers are delivered into a washer 3, preferably a machine oi' thetype known as a rotary raw stock washer, where the cut` bery is violently agitated. Water .'at a temperature of less than 80 F. is continuously introduced into the washer 3 until the liquid discharged therefrom runs clear. During the rst stages of washing the discharged liquid is dark in color, becomes lighter as the washing continues, and nally clears, indicating the completion of this step of the process. In general, the less seasoned the ax, the less time required for this step of the process, as the foreign matter is more readily removed from unseasoned ber and the cut ends thereof are more readily frayed. One and one-half hours of this treatment is ample, however, even for ber which has been unduly seasoned; ordinarily a shorter period of time is sulcient.

This treatment removes a large part of the foreign matter of the ber, whether by dissolving of the foreign matter in the water or by suspension therein. The use of cold, rather than heated water for this purpose is importantas I have found that the ber, after the above-described treatment in cold water, will lose about 7% or more of its originalweight, whereas the same -treatment in wat( of higher temperature loses less than 2% of its initial weight, indicating that hot water sets the foreign matter without removing any appreciable amount thereof. f

The agitation of the bers in the washer 3 causes the elements, or individual ber filaments, of each brous bundle to slide. relatively to each other and thus tapers the ends of the bundles to render them spinnable. UnderI large scale commercial production, I have found that when the tapering o f the ends of the cut ber is effected 'at this stage of the process,- cotton machinery can be more effectively utilized than when the tapering is effected during the degumming process as described in my above-mentioned patent. If desired however, a non-agitating type of pure yarns of any oi' these iibers or of yarns of washer could-be employed at this stage and the any of these bers mixed with cotton, wool or tapering of the ends effected by agitation during silk. I do not wish, therefore, insofar as the procthe degumming operation. ess is concerned, to be limited to the treatment From the washer 3 the ber is delivered to a of flax, except as defined in the appended claims. receptacle 4 which I have called, on the ow sheet, From the above description it will be apparent a non-agtating washer. This washer is preferthat my process can be so performed as to produce ably of the type known to the industry asa vacuum raw stock washer in which water or other ton in intimate mixture in any desired proporfluid may be vforced upward through material tions. held therein and withdrawn through perforations The pure dry-spun linen yarn produced by my in the removable top thereof. Into such a washer process can be distinguished from wet spun yarn the washed ber is packed and a degumming soluby its appearance as it is less twisted and has a tion as described in my earlier application, is inslight tendencyto curl; in this respect resembling troduced under pressure and forced through the yarn of wool. Also the new yarn appears to be fiber. Dilute solutions of permanganate of potassomewhat more uniform in cross section than wet sium or of caustic potash or caustic soda are spun yarn. My pure product can be made as suitable degumming solutions. For example I ne, as the ordinary wet spun 1inen.` Wet spun may use a solution of one. half to one part by linen runs from about sixty lea up to one hundred weight of caustic soda to one hundred parts of lea for the finest hand spun linen, or converting water. The solution, after passing through the to the usual unit of the cotton industry, from fiber is preferably delivered to a centrifugal sepabout 21 to 35 count (one count being equal to arator 5 for removal of the gums carried thereabout 2.8 lea). Yarn produced by my process by, and'then returned to the washer 4 and again can be spun as fine as 25 or 30 count, possibly forced through the fiber, returned to separator-5 nner. This is true, whether the yarn is pure flax and then back to the washer 4; the cycle being or cotton and flax mixed. Furthermore the mixed vcontinued until the discharge of gums from the yarn can be produced in any desired proportions separator indicates the completion of the operaof ax and cotton and when produced has the aption. The spent solution is then drained from pearance of an extremely uniform product. Inthe washer 4 and the fiber -washed for a few sofar as I am aware no such product of fiax and minutes to remove the last traces of the solution. cotton has heretofore been produced. Such mix- After washing in the washer 4, cotton stock tures as had been produced were made by mixis added to the fiber and the mixture delivered to. ing tow (combings) or noils (sweepings) of prea drier 6 which can be of the type employed in viously processed flax flbers with low grade cotthe cotton industry. If the product is to be pure ton during the carding and drawing operation. linen and is to be spun on ring spindles, then, in- Because such flax fibers had not been treated so stead of the addition of cotton at this stage, a as to taper the ends thereof, they were not suitsuitable plasticizing agent, for example a dilute able for spinning on cotton machinery and when solution of silicate-of soda, or of beta napthol mixed with cotton the resulting yarn, even when is forced through the fiber in.the.washer until the original mixture contained a substantial it is thoroughly impregnated therewith. This amount of the ax, contained only about fifteen gives to the relatively slippery short fibrous bunper cent. flax; the rest of the flax being lost durdles sufficient cohesive properties as to render ing the treatment: Moreover, the resulting yarn them spinnable. The .addition of the plasticizer unlike my new product had the appearance of an is not essential when the ber has been cut into obvious mixture, and was notv produced nner than the longer lengths suitable for mule spindles. about 9 count.

From the drier 6 the ber mixture of ax The product of mixed cotton and flax yarn, and cotton or the pure plasticized flax fiber is when woven into cloth has the appearance of delivered to an opener 7, a. carding machine 8, linen but is as durable as pure linen and has a sliver forming machines 9 and spinning machinless tendency to wrinkle. Even when the mixture ery 10. Machines 6, 7, 9 and 10 may be standard contains a greater proportion of cotton than ax, machines of the cotton industry without modicloth woven therefrom has the characteristic either pure linen yarn or yarn of linen and cotcation. The carding machine a-may also be of sheen of linen, the ax apparently being the more the type used for cotton but should be operated dominante! the two. At the present time, howat a reduced speed. Removal of the flats of the ever, I prefer a product having more than ten standard carder and substitution of a smooth surbut less than sixty per cent. cotton as I believe face therefor will result, however, in more eiliyarn of such proportions is perhaps best suited cient operation. K for commercial use; cloth woven therefrom being One by-product of the process, as above depractically undistinguishable from linen cloth scribed, is the gum recovered by the separator 5. land being superior thereto in its wearing quality. In addition, the materialseparated from the fiax N My new product is thus characteriaed by the straw by the decorticating machine 1 may be fact that itisdry spun ax containing any desired separated for further use by delivery of the seeds 'percentage of cotton (preferably more than ten and boles, separated from the ax straw during and less than sixty per cent. by weight of cotton the early stages of decortication, to a winnowing but including zero per cent.) that it has,l a count machine 11 and delivery of the shive, separated higher than 9 (preferably about 25), that it is of.Y during the later stages of decortication' together substantially uniform cross section, that it has/a With the bOleS from the WinnOWing machine 11, wool-like tendency to curl, and that, irrespective to la baler 12. of the percentage of cotton therein,f it does not I have now described my preferred process with give theappearance of a mixture but gives that particular reference to the production of linen of a homogeneous yarn. l or of linen and cotton yarn. The process, how-'5"' /I-claimz ever, iS equally applicable to the treatment 0f 1. A new article of manufacture comprising a other vegetable fibers, such as`hemp, ramie, jute, homogeneous appearing yarn dry spun froml or the like and lends itself to the-production of mixture of cotton and 0f subsi-,antw pure eeuu.

1,9se,97o 3 lose derived from iiax, the yarn being charac- 3. A new article of manufacture comprising a terized by substantial'uniformity of cross section uniform appearing relatively ne yarn of a count and by a wool like tendency to curl. greater than 10 and dry spun from a mixture of 2. A new .article of manufacture comprising a cottonand degummed cut green flax bers. 5 uniform appearing relatively ne yarn dry spun fromv a mixture of cotton and degummed cut THEODORE P. HAUGHEY. green flax bers, the cotton and iiax in the yarn i being in 'substantially equal proportions. 

